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Ritu Kumar - Paris Art Deco in India

The veteran Indian Fashion designer, Ritu Kumar, who completed 45 years in the industry this year was the designer of choice for the Finale of the WIFW SS 13. The show opened with a showcase of the label Ritu Kumar. Then, a ball room dance sequence with old Hindi remix numbers playing at the backdrop, followed by the second half displaying India's fashion scene during the colonial rule. With a simple yet aesthetic message in the way it is designed, art deco indicates glamour, uniqueness and inspirational architecture. Svelte models ambled on the ramp exhibiting the mastery of Ritu Kumar's understanding of the concept and her brilliant modern-day execution. The ballroom dance sequence was a deliberate inclusion to prepare the audience for the forthcoming romance of the 1930s. The music changed to a remix version of Shammi Kapoor's famous song from the movie China Town, Baar Baar Dekho, and in glided four dancing couples dressed in dashing black suits and graceful black saris. A pleasant break from the previous sober collection, the performance indeed managed to raise moments of nostalgia in the crowd that had already started asking for more. The theme of Ritu Kumar's second collection was a walk back into the era of women who wore full sleeve sheer blouses with ruffled cuffs, sheer gowns with flower appliques, excessive use of golden brocade embroidery in velvet Lehengas, choker jewellery and braided hair buns, hair brooches amidst the amorous saxophone playing along. "This is a couture collection that dips into the romance of the 1930s and draws from the influences the movement had in India," Kumar explained. Former Miss India Esha Gupta was the show-stopper for Ritu Kumar.